Missed opportunities were the narrative for the Escambia County Lady Blue Devils in their loss to the Thomasville Lady Tigers last Friday in Thomasville.

The Lady Blue Devils (11-4, 2-2) stranded a total of five runners on base against Thomasville, as the home team escaped with a 7-4 victory.

The inability to get runs at critical moments in the game stood out, Lady Blue Devils head softball coach Darryl Otwell said.

“Against Thomasville, we played well enough to win,” he said. “We hit the ball well, but they came late in the game. Everything was good in that game, but we just could not capitalize on the chances we had to win the game.”

Thomasville jumped out to the early lead in the contest going up 5-0 through four innings.

Escambia County responded with three runs in the top of the fifth inning with Lexi Daughtry (1-for-2, R), Tristen Boothe (1-for-3, 2R) and Jasmine Ireland (1-for-4, R) crossing the plate.  Kaylee Cox (1-for-3, 2B, 3RBI) helped put the runs on the board with a three-RBI double.

With the Lady Blue Devils down by one, the Lady Tigers found contact on some ECHS pitches that helped them extend the lead 7-3.

With one final shot, ECHS went to the plate, but could only get one run across the plate to put the final score at 7-4.
The game was summed up by having to fight off deficits, Otwell said.

“They jumped out to an lead early, but we came back and pulled within two runs,” he said. “ In the sixth inning, their catcher hit a two-run double that knocked in a couple of runs that put them out in front by four runs. After that, we just could not get back into the game.”

The Lady Blue Devils next game will be Friday against the Flomaton Lady Hurricanes in the County Tournament. The game begins at 5:30 p.m. at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton.

Lady Indians 3, Lady Blue Devils 0
Escambia County had its share of troubles against Southern Choctaw pitcher Adrian Sims last Friday in a game played at Thomasville High School.

Sims racked up 17 strikeouts against the Lady Blue Devils, as the Lady Indians came away with a 3-0 victory.

Against the Lady Indians, ECHS managed just two hits with Kaylee Cox (1-for-3) and Ashleigh Simpkins (1-for-2) recording singles off of Sims in the contest.

The inexperience of the Lady Blue Devils against a fast pitcher was the issue, Lady Blue Devils Head Softball Coach Darryl Otwell said.

“Their senior pitcher that can run it up close to 64,” he said. “It’s tough to ask a young group to be able to hit that type of pitching. I give our girls credit, they stayed in and battled with some good at-bats. She struck out 17 of our batters, which just showed how good of an outing she had.”

Despite their inability to find offense against Sims and the Lady Indians, the Lady Blue Devils defense led by pitcher Kaylee Cox held their own. Cox finished the game with two strikeouts, while only allowing three runs.

Southern Choctaw opened the game with a run in the first inning; followed up with another run in the top of the second and added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to help them earn the win.